3/8 Conducts Insert and Extract Operations

Photo By Sgt. Kaitlyn Klein | Marines with Scout Sniper Platoon, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment conduct movements to and from aircrafts during an insertion and extraction training exercises aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., April 16, 2015. While some Marines debarked the MV-22B Ospreys and entered a tree line for cover, others loaded onto the aircraft to be flown over Onslow Bay, and circled back to Landing Zone Hawk. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Kaitlyn Klein/Released)  

CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, UNITED STATES

04.16.2015

Story by Cpl. Kaitlyn Klein 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - The sounds of rotors tore through the warm air as Marines stood in a tree line, waiting for the winds to calm and the aircraft to land before breaking cover and boarding the helicopters.

Marines with Scout Sniper Platoon, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment conducted insertion and extraction training exercises aboard Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, April 16, 2015, with the assistance of MV-22B Ospreys from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, stationed at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina.

“The purpose of today’s training is to get the Marines familiar with landing zone procedures,” said 1st Lt. Adam Fountain, a scout sniper platoon commander with the company. “We’re having the Marines insert and extract from the birds to get them comfortable with accounting for all the Marines boarding and leaving the aircraft. Every one of them will have at least one turn to call in the Ospreys over the radio to get them in and out of the landing zone.”

While taking cover in a tree line, the Marines kept full security around their team and called for the Ospreys to pick them up. As the aircraft flew overhead and landed in the large, empty lot of sand, the Marines gathered together and hurried onto the dropped ramps.

This training was a confirmation exercise to display the Marines have mastered the skills worked on previously, said Fountain, a native from Macon, Georgia. The Marines learned the importance of communication between themselves and the aircrew, not only for knowing how long a flight will take and how much gear can be taken on, but also for which direction they need to exit the aircraft after landing. Training to insert and extract quickly and efficiently provides them with a scenario similar to what they might encounter overseas.

Although the scout snipers are new to the battalion, Fountain said, they maintain a good sense of initiative and work hard to keep themselves prepared for deployment.

The skills practiced and learned throughout the training will add another tool for the platoon to have available for use in various missions.

By conducting air training with actual helicopters, the Marines are able to work on various aspects they normally don’t get to practice. “These Marines have gone through several classes on landing zone briefs and procedures, and they’ve been getting familiar with operating radios as well as communicating with the pilots,” Fountain said. “The terminology that the pilots use is a little bit different than what our infantrymen use. We are looking for equal understanding on both sides of the radio.”

The battalion is gearing up for their upcoming six-month deployment this fall with Black Sea Rotational Force. During their deployment, the Marines will be standing by for crisis response missions, as well as providing the capabilities to insert and extract via aircraft.

• Date Taken: 04.16.2015
• Date Posted: 04.23.2015 09:15
• Story ID: 160946
• Location: CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US
• Hometown: MACON, GA, US